Gosen, Niigata
city in Niigata prefecture, Japan
Gosen (五泉市, Gosen-shi) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of 11 September 2024, the city had an estimated population of 45,916 in 19,086 households, and a population density of 138 persons per km². The total area of the city is 351.91 square kilometres (135.87 sq mi).
Geography
Gosen is located in an inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture. The Agano River flows through the city.
Surrounding municipalities
Niigata Prefecture
Aga
Akiha-ku, Niigata
Agano
Kamo
Sanjō
Tagami
History
The area of present-day Gosen was part of ancient Echigo Province. Under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, parts of what is now Gosen were under the control of Muramatsu Domain, a minor feudal domain ruled by a junior branch of the Hori clan.
Municipal timeline
On April 1, 1889 - the town of Gosen was created within Kitakanbara District, Niigata with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
On November 3, 1954 - the modern city of Gosen was established from the merger of the town of Gosen with the villages of Sumoto, Kawahigashi and Hashida (all from Kitakanbara District).
On January 1, 2006 - the town of Muramatsu (from Nakakanbara District) was merged into Gosen.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Gosen, Niigata” as city in Niigata prefecture, Japan. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Niigata prefecture, Japan. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q858364. VIAF identifies the subject as 124368418. The Library of Congress control number is n83012352. Authority coordinates are 37.744, 139.183. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 1889, 1954 and 2006.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gosen, Niigata”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gosen, Niigata primary sources, Gosen, Niigata archive and Gosen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gosen, Niigata”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gosen, Niigata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.